e-commerce

On September 29, 2015, TEI submitted comments to the Japanese Ministry of Finance regarding proposed changes to Japan's taxation of cross-border supplies of services, as most recently articulated in Japan's May 2015 Revision of Consumption Taxation on Cross-Border Supplies of Services Guidelines.

On October 29, 2014, TEI submitted a letter to the Japanese Ministry of Finance responding to a number of Japanese Consumption Tax proposals that would affect foreign-based suppliers of electronic services. The Institute's comments addressed several areas to be considered if a mandatory registration system for foreign e-commerce providers were created. TEI has submitted comments on this issue in a number of other jurisdictions, including Canada, the European Union, and South Africa.

On July 14, 2014, TEI submitted a letter to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) addressing new rules affecting foreign-based supplies of electronic services. The letter identified several areas where further guidance or amendments to the rules would assist businesses and SARS.The letter was prepared under the aegis of TEI's European Indirect Tax Committee, whose chair is Jean-Francois Turgeon of Caterpillar SARL. Materially contributing to the development of TEI's comments were Julien Brugere of Time Warner Inc. and Lynne Clare of Sony Corporate Services Europe Ltd.

On June 27, 2014, TEI submitted a letter to the Canadian Department of Finance observing that requiring foreign e-commerce suppliers to register with Canadian Revenue Authority and collect GST/HST on sales to final consumers would restore neutrality to the Canadian sales tax system and mitigate the pricing difference resulting from the ineffectiveness of self-assessment of the tax. The Institute's comments went on to discuss several areas to be addressed if a mandatory registration system for foreign e-commerce providers is created.